i72 THE REPUBLIC OF RAGUSA
of the Grand Council, the Senate, and the Minor Council, and the proposal of the affairs to be discussed in these assemblies, in which, however, he himself had only one vote. During his brief tenure of office he might never leave his official residence save in full state, i.e. accompanied by twenty-four retainers attired in scarlet, two musicians, and all the chief secretaries and palace functionaries. His own robe was like that of a Venetian senator. Under these circumstances we can hardly imagine him taking much pleasure in a quiet walk for a breath of fresh air. If he was ill or excluded from the Council “ in his own interest or in that of his relations,”1 his place was taken by the senior member of the Minor Council. If he died while in office he was borne to the grave on the shoulders of the nobles, the bell of the Palace tolled, and the city gates were closed. In 1441 Ladislas, King of Hungary, conferred upon the chief magistrate of Ragusa the title of Arch-Rector, which was confirmed by King Matthew Corvinus in 1463, but the Senate refused to allow him to use it, lest it should inspire him with dangerous ambitions! He was, however, permitted to accept the knighthood of the Golden Spur with which he had been invested by the same monarch. No other important changes were made in the constitution from this date until the fall of the Republic.
   Ragusa’s international position, however, was now considerably altered. The King of Hungary allowed the citizens the most absolute liberty to manage their
   1	I.e. when his own acts or the election of one of his relatives was under discussion.